Category Archives: Writings about Writing

Thoughts and tips about the craft

My First Anniversary!

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So tomorrow, June 20th, marks exactly one year since my first blog entry. Okay, technically it was my second blog entry, but my actual first post was just a test to make sure I’d set up everything right on WordPress.

Anyway, in this post I’d like to celebrate that I survived a year of blogging. And I’d like to share some of the things that I’ve learned over this past year:

1. Blogging is lots of fun

It’s been fun coming up with new things to write about every week, reading comments from readers, posting my little Gravatar link all over the interwebs so that more people will see my blog.

2. Blogging is lots of work

See #1. As fun as blogging is, it’s also been surprisingly hard to post something creative once a week. As someone who loves to write, this ought to be easy, but it isn’t always. Especially since I try to publish my posts on a regular schedule, so I always have my self-imposed deadline breathing down my neck.

3. Blogging is a great way to meet new people

I’ve met so many cool bloggers. Since I started blogging, I’ve also been reading more blogs, and engaging in conversations via the comments fields—sometimes even moving to email or Facebook for deeper conversations. Yes, I do believe you can have meaningful friendships online.

4. Blogging stretches my creativity

See #2 about how much work it is keeping up with regular postings. Right now, I’m feeling very accomplished because I have several more weeks’ worth of blog entries already written, and more ideas in the pipe. But many times I find myself staring at the computer, thinking that if I don’t post something this week then some reader I don’t know will suddenly hate me. Surely a creative writer can come up with something creative to write? Sometimes it’s a stretch.

5. Blogging gives me a confidence boost

Despite the stresses of #2 and #4, I’m happy about my first year of blogging. I know I’m not famous (yet), nor am I being paid for blogging (yet), but it makes me smile when I see how many people subscribe to my blog via email or follow me on WordPress. And I’ve posted at least one entry a week for an entire year. Creative gems or not, that’s still a lot of writing.

So here’s my self-congratulatory pat on the back. And many thanks to everyone who does follow me (here, or on Facebook or Twitter). I hope you’ll read and share my writing for another year! 🙂

A Father’s Day tribute to Great Dads of Literature

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This coming Sunday we celebrate the fathers in our lives. So, in keeping with my earlier blog post about Mother’s Day, here’s my Father’s Day celebration of dads in books.

5. Pongo, from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith

Pongo’s wife Missus made it into my Mother’s Day list of literary moms. Pongo, like his wife, was loyal to his spouse, loyal to his children, and loyal to his Dalmatian friends Perdita and Prince. And compassionate enough to adopt eighty-some other puppies as his own kids.

4. Pa Ingalls, from The Little House on the Prairie series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Perhaps Charles Ingalls doesn’t belong on this list, since he was actually a real person. But he was a top-notch dad nonetheless. He led his family into the great unknown of the west, because he believed it would be the best opportunity for his family and provide his children with the best future. And all through sicknesses, natural disasters, and the general hard labor of a farmer, he kept a positive attitude, kept his love for God, and always showed love for his daughters.

3. James Henry Alden, from The Boxcar Children series, by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Grandfather Alden must have been a good dad, because he was an excellent granddad. The parents of the Boxcar Children had passed away, and so Mr. Alden went hunting for his elusive grandchildren. The self-sufficient kids were delighted to have a family again, but Mr. Alden never let them lose the independence they’d gained. He provided a home, love, support, and advice, and was there to bail them out if they truly got into danger—but he let his grandkids explore their world in their own way, and always treated them with respect, no matter their age.

2. Samwise Gamgee, from the Lord of the Rings series, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Sam didn’t actually become a father until the very end of the last book. But we learned what sort of father that he would be based on his undying loyalty to Frodo and his determination to always do what was right. These traits, along with his eternal hopefulness and his love of all living things, earned him hero status. Every dad wants to be a hero to his children, and Sam achieved this—despite his best efforts to remain a respectable hobbit and stay at home in his garden.

1. Mark Christopher, from The Choice, by Og Mandino

Mark did all the right things as a dad—provided a stable and loving home for his family, and showed his kids how to pursue a dream and deal with the consequences of achieving it, both good and bad. And he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice—to lay down his own life to save his son’s. That’s a loving dad.

Don’t forget to wish your dad a happy father’s day!

The Nitty-Gritty of Writing: Latin Abbreviations – i.e., e.g., etc.

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I don’t know about you, but sometimes Latin abbreviations just confuse me. Despite my love of languages, I never took a Latin class in school. I don’t know if that puts me at a disadvantage or not when it comes to scientific and literary Latin-isms. But I’m willing to bet that I’m not the only one who gets confused sometimes about the proper usage of some of these oft-used Latin terms.

Rather than teach an entire Latin lesson (which I can’t do, because, as I just stated, I never studied it)—I’ll just cover three common Latin terms used in writing. Let’s start with i.e. and e.g.

The abbreviation i.e. stands for id est, which means “that is.” It’s a way of explaining in further detail something that was stated in the first part of a sentence. If you substitute “that is” or “in other words” for the i.e. and the sentence still makes sense, then i.e. is probably the abbreviation you need.

Since I’m lactose intolerant, I can’t eat the best part of the pizza, i.e., the cheese. (Since I’m lactose intolerant, I can’t eat the best part of the pizza, in other words, the cheese.)

To help you remember what i.e. means and you’re not a Latin expert, pretend that it means “in essence.”

The abbreviation e.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means “for the sake of example.” It can be used to describe a list (or a single item) that is an example of what was stated in the first part of a sentence. If you substitute “for example” in place of the e.g. and the sentence still works, that’s probably the right choice.

I grew up reading super hero comics, e.g., X-Men, Fantastic Four, Batman. (I grew up reading super hero comics, for example, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Batman.)

To help you remember what e.g. means, pretend that it stands for “example given.”

I may be going against a rule book of grammatical standards, but for general usage, these two abbreviations should be lower case, always have the period after each letter, and should be followed by a comma. (I think this last, about the comma, applies primarily to American usage. British usage doesn’t have the comma).

The abbreviation etc. stands for et cetera, which means “and so forth” or “and other things.” It is used at the end of a sentence to indicate a continuation of a list of related items.

I’ve owned many different breeds of rabbits: mini lop, rex, lion head, etc. (I’ve owned many different breeds of rabbits: mini lop, rex, lion head, and so forth/and other similar things.)

Like the other two abbreviations, etc. is always lowercase and always followed by a period. It’s usually used at the end of a sentence, but it should be proceeded by a comma after the last word of the series.

I hope this helps to clarify some of these Latin abbreviations, both when you’re reading and when you’re writing. Just remember:

i.e. – in essence

e.g. – example given

etc. – and so forth

 

Does anyone else have any other troublesome abbreviations and easy tricks for remembering how to use them?

Current Writing Projects

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This week’s entry is all about me. I couldn’t think of anything useful or instructive to write, so I thought I’d just share a little about my own current writing projects.

Besides writing this fabulous blog, I am also working on two novels. They’re both part of the fantasy trilogy that has been my main creative focus for the better part of the past two years. The trilogy is entitled The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala. I’m about half-way (okay, maybe one third of the way) done with the first draft of book two.

I really enjoy writing a first draft, even when I find myself deviating from my original outline. Or when I get to that trouble spot of my outline where I just had a big question mark and now I’ve got to come up with something.

First draft writing is pure creation, pure exploration. I’m learning about the characters and having adventures right along with them. It’s fun and it’s freeing.

Editing, revising, and rewriting are not quite as fun. This is where I am with book one. Yes, editing, revising, and rewriting are all different processes, but I’m currently engaged in all of them. Mostly that last one.

I have rewritten many scenes in the first two chapters—more than once. And each time a scene is rewritten, I know it’s better—the plot flows smoother, the clunky boring parts are trimmed or gone, the characters become more three-dimensional and consistent. The total word count is going down, which is a good thing (the first draft clocked in at 175,000 words, which is a tad long, even for a fantasy tome). I’m excited about the end result of a more streamlined and readable novel, but I’m becoming less and less excited about the process to get said result.

I’m sure all writers (or artists of any sort) experience this feeling of being so tired of a piece of work that you just want to give up on it and call it done so you can forget about the thing. Yes, there will come a point when I have to call it done—without doing that, it will never be published. But I know that time is not yet.

My critique group has been very helpful by providing feedback. They have pointed out the slow spots (there are lots of those), the places where characters seem to fall flat, and those little inaccuracies that aren’t a big thing but could trip me up later. Of course I don’t automatically make every suggested change, but when multiple people point out the same things—repeatedly—it’s probably important.

Hence, the rewriting. And more rewriting. My goal is to have the rewrites and revisions of the entire first book done by the end of May. That’s a little over a week away, for anyone who’s counting. And how close am I to accomplishing that goal? I’d rather not talk about that…

Well, sooner or later, I will finish this revision of book one. As sick of it as I am right now, I’ve worked too hard on it to just quit. And besides, since I’m industriously writing book two (and sketching ideas for book three), that kind of makes book one necessary.

So now it’s back to the rewriting/revising board again (with the occasional hop over to first draft creative freedom on book two, when I just can’t stand it anymore). Oh yeah, and cranking out a blog entry of some sort every week.

So what sort of projects are you working on?

An Interview with your Character

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There are so many tips, tricks, and exercises to help a writer with developing their characters. I’ve written a couple of posts about that myself.

One technique that I recently learned is to answer questions about your character as if they were being interviewed. To really get into our character’s psyche, try answering these questions in first person, in your character’s voice. Write it out, and be sure to use your character’s speech pattern, mannerisms, everything. How would your character respond if someone in the story were asking them these questions?

Some of these questions would be most applicable to a human character in modern day, but I’ve tried to make some of them general enough to apply to fantasy/historical/sci-fi, etc.

So your character sits down to answer these interview questions. What does he or she say?

What’s your favorite band?

Who’s your favorite athlete or favorite sports team?

Do you have a Facebook or Twitter account? Why or why not?

What makes you laugh?

Are you right-handed or a lefty?

What’s your favorite hobby?

Do you have a nickname? Are you proud of it or embarrassed by it?

Have you ever killed anyone?

How many countries have you been to?

If you could permanently change one thing about your physical appearance, what would it be?

Feel free to share some answers or dialogue exchanges! What are some other interview questions that could help with character development?